Results tagged “folk”

I don't know if you've noticed, but there seems to be a very healthy country/folk scene growing in Los Angeles. Which is a little unexpected, LA is not the first city that you think of when you think of Americana, but the developing sound is nothing short of wonderful. From Olin and the Moon, to Dawes, to Leslie and the Badgers, The Whiskey Saints, Parson Red Heads, and Mississippi Man, there is definitely something in air. To add to that list, please include Lissie (Maurus) a young lady originally from Rock Island, IL who has been calling LA home for the last five years. Her debut EP Where You Runnin' has been making huge waves. In fact, I don't think I've seen critics this excited about an EP since Bon Iver's Blood Bank EP earlier this year. And for damn good reason too.

In 2001 The Appleseed Cast found themselves in a sticky situation in Germany. Their booking agent had told some promoters at a record store that the band would do an acoustic set. Lead singer, Chris Crisci explains, "Prior even going over to Europe we had had this discussion with our agent. He wanted us to do an acoustic show. We said no. He asked again. We said no. So we get to this record store in Germany, and they were like "So you're playing this acoustic thing?" I was so pissed. How much more clear could we be? But it turns out that people really liked what we were playing." Crisci decided to try out some of the new material he had been writing on the side, and it went really well. So well, he decided to form his own folk side project, Old Canes.

Most people spend New Years Day wallowing in self pity under the weight of a beastly hangover or trying desperately to piece together the foggy series of events from the previous evening. The three members of The Low Anthem: Jeff Prystowsky, Josie Adams, and Ben Knox Miller set off to a tiny cabin on Block Island, RI on the first day of 2008 to record an album. The result was Oh My God, Charlie Darwin a folk album released in June of this year, which is chocked full of intelligent lyrics inspired by America's past and present laid gently on top of harmonies that make your heart ache. We caught up with bassist, Jeff Prystowsky, in Seattle as he was waiting for his pancakes this morning to talk about his latest album. Here is some of what was said.

Elvis Perkins is back with a brand new sophomore album, Elvis Perkins in Dearland and this time he's ditching the solo act and bringing his band with him. The result is this delightfully eloquent collection of songs about live, love, and death is inspired by the New Orleans tradition of having a raucous band follow a funeral march. We sat down with Perkins before his show at the Troubadour and asked him a few questions about his new EP Doomsday and the end of the world.

Some people go green by driving Priuses. Others brag about their bio-diesel conversions. Don't get me wrong. These are both admirable attempts at meaningful earth friendliness, but when you really want hardcore bragging rights, nothing beats abandoning the auto altogether. For their first West coast tour, The folk-pop duo known as Blind Pilot decided to head from Vancouver to San Diego by...bicycle.

Like so many teenagers before him, when Ryan Sollee was fifteen he asked his parents for a guitar. Due to his less than perfect grades, they turned him down, but young Sollee was not to be deterred. He went down to the garage and built one from scratch with some of his dad's fishing line and some balsa wood. "It sounded horrible," he admitted, "But my parents were so impressed, that they broke down and got me one. Either that or the noise was getting to them."

If you're like me, the very word "folktronica" makes you cringe as if someone had dragged their fingernails down the chalkboard of your heart. Folk and electronica? Could anything be more horrible than putting synth beats on top of Nick Drake? Or adding some banjo and slowing down Justice's tempo? The two genres seemed to be like beef jerky and Pop Rocks, two substances who were delicious apart but shouldn't ever ever be mixed together.

Are you the sort of person who goes weak at the knees when you hear a killer banjo solo? I am too. Which is why you should get your folk fix at Spaceland tomorrow night. Hailing from Ontario, Great Lake Swimmers' were in town haunting brand of melodic folk has captivated audiences all over North America. Founding member and sole singer-songwriter for the group, Tony Dekker, was kind enough to speak with us over the weekend about his latest album, Lost Channels. Here is some of what was said.

       

Looking like a rockabilly dandy with James Dean hair and a Clark Gable mustache, The Tallest Man on Earth otherwise known as Kristian Matsson took the stage last Thursday night looking like the most American Swede I had ever seen. With his neatly rolled up sleeves, tight jeans, and old fashioned shoes, Matsson dressed the part of a troubadour from the early 1960s reminiscent of a young Johnny Cash. So much so that at one point someone yelled out Cash's name for no apparent reason to which Matsson smiled and said, "I think he's dead, sir."

Founding member of the folk group Kingston Trio Nick Reynolds died Wednesday in San Diego of acute respiratory disease and other illnesses. The band is credited with jump-starting "the revival folk scene of the late 1950s and paved the way for artists such as Bob Dylan and Joan Baez," according to the Associated Press. One of the groups more popular songs--M.T.A.--which is about the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, interestingly enough still rings true with Los Angeles's own MTA, otherwise known as Metro. Check out the first words about it in this YouTube video.